The 'Yo-Yo Woman' Linda Sengpiel went by a simple creed: "Commit yourself to constant improvement," she told the Akron Beacon Journal in 1994. "I think that's what I did without ever realizing what I was doing."
The "Yo-Yo Woman" of Akron, Ohio died of cancer at age 57. Mrs. Sengpiel was a well regarded yo-yo artist, winning in a twirling championship sponsered by the Duncan Yo-Yo Co. at Akron's Highland Square in 1957. Of the 500 contestants, she was the only girl. Her prize - a boy's bike.
"Yo-yoing is a small thing, but small accomplishments give you confidence to achieve big ones," she told the Beacon Journal. "That's what it's all about."
She came to the craft early, at age 3. Her mother was worried that she'd break all the windows in the house, but her father encouraged her to perfect the intricate twirls.
Her skill was so great that she could light a match hanging from the lips of a bystander, yo-yo with one hand and juggle with the other, or knock a poker chip out of a participant's ear.
She was interviewed by many notables including, Captain Penny, Barnaby, Bozo the Clown, Dorothy Fuldheim and Diane Sawyer, and made many guest appearances.
She performed at the Saturday banquet that included the yo-yo olympics in 1979 and appeared several times on the Morning Exchange show on Cleveland's WEWS, Channel 5, as well as on CBS and NBC sports shows.
She trained her children to be yo-yo champions as well. The family starred on a segment of the TV show PM Magazine in 1979 and was filmed at home for the Japanese TV show We're Number One, the Japanese version of That's Incredible, in 1982. Linda was married for 29-years.

The 'Yo-Yo Woman' Linda Sengpiel went by a simple creed: "Commit yourself to constant improvement," she told the Akron Beacon Journal in 1994. "I think that's what I did without ever realizing what I was doing."
The "Yo-Yo Woman" of Akron, Ohio died of cancer at age 57. Mrs. Sengpiel was a well regarded yo-yo artist, winning in a twirling championship sponsered by the Duncan Yo-Yo Co. at Akron's Highland Square in 1957. Of the 500 contestants, she was the only girl. Her prize - a boy's bike.
"Yo-yoing is a small thing, but small accomplishments give you confidence to achieve big ones," she told the Beacon Journal. "That's what it's all about."
She came to the craft early, at age 3. Her mother was worried that she'd break all the windows in the house, but her father encouraged her to perfect the intricate twirls.
Her skill was so great that she could light a match hanging from the lips of a bystander, yo-yo with one hand and juggle with the other, or knock a poker chip out of a participant's ear.
She was interviewed by many notables including, Captain Penny, Barnaby, Bozo the Clown, Dorothy Fuldheim and Diane Sawyer, and made many guest appearances.
She performed at the Saturday banquet that included the yo-yo olympics in 1979 and appeared several times on the Morning Exchange show on Cleveland's WEWS, Channel 5, as well as on CBS and NBC sports shows.
She trained her children to be yo-yo champions as well. The family starred on a segment of the TV show PM Magazine in 1979 and was filmed at home for the Japanese TV show We're Number One, the Japanese version of That's Incredible, in 1982. Linda was married for 29-years.